Switch device

ABSTRACT

A switch device includes a switching element that connects/disconnects a current path from a power supply terminal to a ground terminal via a load, and an overcurrent protection circuit that limits output current flowing in the switching element to be an overcurrent limit value or less. When an output short circuit of the load is detected, the overcurrent protection circuit decreases the overcurrent limit value to be lower as a power supply voltage is higher. In addition, the switch device preferably includes a switching element that connects/disconnects a current path from a power supply terminal to a ground terminal via a load, an intermittent control unit that intermittently drives the switching element when an abnormality is detected, and an output voltage monitoring portion that disables the intermittent control unit until an output voltage applied to the load reaches its target value.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.16/218,724, filed Dec. 13, 2018, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on the following patent applications filed in Japan, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

-   (1) No. 2017-240790 filed on Dec. 15, 2017-   (2) No. 2017-251264 filed on Dec. 27, 2017-   (3) No. 2018-198509 filed on Oct. 22, 2018

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention disclosed in this specification relates to a switchdevice.

Description of Related Art

Conventionally, switch devices (such as a high side switch IC and a lowside switch IC), which are on/off controlled in accordance with anexternal control signal, are used in various applications.

As examples of conventional techniques related to the above description,there are JP-A-2015-35914 and JP-A-2016-208762.

However, in the conventional switch device, there is more room forimprovement in reducing power consumption or keeping constant the samewhen an output short circuit occurs, or in compatibility between stablestartup and functional safety thereof.

Particularly in recent years, in-vehicle ICs are required to comply withISO26262 (international standard for functional safety of electric andelectronic systems in vehicles), so it is important to designreliability based on fail-safe principle for in-vehicle switch devices,too.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above-mentioned problem found by the inventors, it is anobject of the invention disclosed in this specification to provide aswitch device that can reduce power consumption or keep constant thesame when an output short circuit occurs, or that can achieve bothstable startup and functional safety.

A switch device disclosed in this specification includes switchingelement arranged to connect/disconnect a current path from a powersupply terminal to a ground terminal via a load, and an overcurrentprotection circuit arranged to limit output current flowing in theswitching element to be an overcurrent limit value or less. When anoutput short circuit of the load is detected, the overcurrent protectioncircuit decreases the overcurrent limit value to be smaller as a powersupply voltage is higher.

In addition, a switch device disclosed in this specification includes aswitching element arranged to connect/disconnect a current path from apower supply terminal to a ground terminal via a load, an intermittentcontrol unit arranged to intermittently drive the switching element whenan abnormality is detected, and an output voltage monitoring portionarranged to disable the intermittent control unit until an outputvoltage applied to the load reaches its target value.

Note that other features, elements, steps, advantages, andcharacteristics of the present invention will become more apparent fromthe description of the best mode embodiment given below and the relatedattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall structure of asemiconductor integrated circuit device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a first structural example of agate control unit.

FIG. 3 is a structural example of an overcurrent protection circuit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structural example of a referencecurrent generation portion.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a first structural example of a lowerside current control unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second structural example of thelower side current control unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a structural example of an output shortcircuit detection portion.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart illustrating linear control of a referencecurrent.

FIG. 9 is a correlation diagram between a power supply voltage VBB andan overcurrent limit value Iocd as well as a power consumption Pc.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a second structural example ofthe gate control unit.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of theovercurrent protection circuit.

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram illustrating a structural example of thecurrent control unit.

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram illustrating a variation of the currentcontrol unit.

FIG. 14 is a timing chart illustrating an example of the overcurrentprotection operation.

FIG. 15 is a timing chart illustrating a manner in which a startup delayoccurs.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a second embodiment of theovercurrent protection circuit.

FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram illustrating a structural example of anoutput voltage monitoring portion.

FIG. 18 is a timing chart illustrating a manner in which the startupdelay is cancelled.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a structural example of atemperature protection circuit.

FIG. 20 is an external view illustrating a structural example of avehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

<Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Device>

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall structure of asemiconductor integrated circuit device. A semiconductor integratedcircuit device 1 of this structural example is an in-vehicle high sideswitch IC (one type of an in-vehicle intelligent power device (IPD)),which connects/disconnects between an application terminal of a powersupply voltage VBB and a load 3 in accordance with an instruction froman electronic control unit (ECU) 2.

Note that the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1 has externalterminals T1 to T4 as means for establishing electric connection withoutside of the device. The external terminal T1 is a power supplyterminal (VBB pin) for receiving power supply voltage VBB (e.g. 12 V)from a battery (not shown). The external terminal T2 is a loadconnection terminal (OUT pin) for externally connecting to the load 3(one of a bulb lamp, a relay coil, a solenoid, a light emitting diode, amotor, and the like). The external terminal T3 is a signal inputterminal (IN pin) for receiving external input of an external controlsignal Si from the ECU 2. The external terminal T4 is a signal outputterminal (SENSE pin) for externally outputting a status signal So to theECU 2. Note that an external sense resistor 4 is externally connectedbetween the external terminal T4 and the ground terminal.

In addition, the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1 includes aNMOSFET 10, an output current monitoring portion 20, a gate control unit30, a control logic portion 40, a signal input portion 50, an internalpower supply portion 60, an abnormality protecting portion 70, an outputcurrent detection portion 80, and a signal output portion 90, which areintegrated.

The NMOSFET 10 is a high withstand voltage (e.g. 42 V) power transistorhaving a drain connected to the external terminal T1 and a sourceconnected to the external terminal T2. The NMOSFET 10 connected in thisway functions as a switching element (high side switch) thatconnects/disconnects a current path from the application terminal of thepower supply voltage VBB to the ground terminal via the load 3. TheNMOSFET 10 is turned on when a gate drive signal G1 is at high level,and is turned off when the gate drive signal G1 is at low level.

Note that the NMOSFET 10 should be designed to have an on-resistance ofa few mΩ to a few tens of mΩ. As the on-resistance of the NMOSFET 10 issmaller, overcurrent flows more easily so that abnormal heating occursmore easily when a short circuit to ground from the external terminal T2occurs (i.e. a short circuit to the ground terminal or a similar lowpotential terminal). Therefore, as the on-resistance of the NMOSFET 10is set lower, an overcurrent protection circuit 71 or a temperatureprotection circuit 73 described later becomes more important.

The output current monitoring portion 20 includes NMOSFETs 21 and 21′and a sense resistor 22, so as to generate a sense voltage Vscorresponding to an output current Io flowing in the NMOSFET 10.

The NMOSFETs 21 and 21′ are mirror transistors connected in parallel tothe NMOSFET 10, so as to respectively generate sense currents Is and Is′corresponding to the output current Io. A size ratio between the NMOSFET10 and each of the NMOSFETs 21 and 21′ is m:1 (m>1). Therefore, thesense currents Is and Is' have a value corresponding to 1/m of theoutput current Io. Note that each of the NMOSFETs 21 and 21′ is turnedon when the gate drive signal G1 is at high level, and is turned offwhen a gate voltage G2 is at low level, similarly to the NMOSFET 10.

The sense resistor 22 (having a resistance of Rs) is connected betweenthe source of the NMOSFET 21 and the external terminal T2, and is acurrent to voltage conversion element that generates the sense voltageVs corresponding to a sense current Is (Vs=Is×Rs+Vo, where Vo is anoutput voltage at the external terminal T2).

The gate control unit 30 generates the gate drive signal G1 whosecurrent capacity is increased from that of a gate control signal S1 andoutputs the gate drive signal G1 to the gates of the NMOSFETs 10 and 21,so as to perform on/off control of the NMOSFETs 10 and 21. Note that thegate control unit 30 has a function to control the NMOSFETs 10 and 21 sothat the output current Io is limited according to an overcurrentprotection signal S71.

The control logic portion 40 is supplied with an internal power supplyvoltage Vreg so as to generate the gate control signal S1. For instance,when the external control signal Si is at high level (that is a logiclevel to turn on the NMOSFET 10), the internal power supply portion 60supplies the internal power supply voltage Vreg, and the control logicportion 40 becomes an operating state so that the gate control signal S1becomes high level (i.e. Vreg). On the contrary, when the externalcontrol signal Si is at low level (that is a logic level to turn off theNMOSFET 10), the internal power supply portion 60 does not supply theinternal power supply voltage Vreg, and the control logic portion 40becomes a non-operating state so that the gate control signal S1 becomeslow level (i.e. GND). In addition, the control logic portion 40 monitorsvarious abnormality protection signals (the overcurrent protectionsignal S71, an open protection signal S72, a temperature protectionsignal S73, and a reduced voltage protection signal S74). Note that thecontrol logic portion 40 also has a function to generate an outputswitch signal S2 according to the monitor results of the overcurrentprotection signal S71, the open protection signal S72, and thetemperature protection signal S73 among the abnormality protectionsignals described above.

The signal input portion 50 is a schmitt trigger that receives theexternal control signal Si from the external terminal T3 and transmitsit to the control logic portion 40 and the internal power supply portion60. Note that the external control signal Si becomes high level whenturning on the NMOSFET 10 and becomes low level when turning off theNMOSFET 10, for example.

The internal power supply portion 60 generates the predeterminedinternal power supply voltage Vreg from the power supply voltage VBB andsupplies it to individual portions of the semiconductor integratedcircuit device 1. Note that the internal power supply portion 60 isenabled or disabled by the external control signal Si. Morespecifically, the internal power supply portion 60 becomes the operatingstate when the external control signal Si is at high level and becomesthe non-operating state when the external control signal Si is at lowlevel.

The abnormality protecting portion 70 is a circuit block that detectsvarious abnormalities of the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1and includes the overcurrent protection circuit 71, an open protectioncircuit 72, the temperature protection circuit 73, and a reduced voltageprotection circuit 74.

The overcurrent protection circuit 71 generates the overcurrentprotection signal S71 corresponding to a monitor result of the sensevoltage Vs (i.e. whether or not an overcurrent abnormality of the outputcurrent Io is generated). Note that the overcurrent protection signalS71 becomes low level when no abnormality is detected and becomes highlevel when an abnormality is detected, for example.

The open protection circuit 72 generates an open protection signal S72corresponding to a monitor result of the output voltage Vo (i.e. whetheror not an open abnormality of the load 3 is generated). Note that theopen protection signal S72 becomes low level when no abnormality isdetected and becomes high level when an abnormality is detected, forexample.

The temperature protection circuit 73 includes a temperature detectionelement (not shown) that detects a temperature abnormality of thesemiconductor integrated circuit device 1 (particularly inside or in avicinity of the NMOSFET 10), so as to generate the temperatureprotection signal S73 corresponding to a detection result thereof (i.e.whether or not a temperature abnormality is generated). Note that thetemperature protection signal S73 becomes low level when no abnormalityis detected and becomes high level when an abnormality is detected, forexample.

The reduced voltage protection circuit 74 (a so-called under voltagelocked-out (UVLO) circuit) generates the reduced voltage protectionsignal S74 corresponding to a monitor result of the power supply voltageVBB or the internal power supply voltage Vreg (i.e. whether or not areduced voltage abnormality is generated). Note that the reduced voltageprotection signal S74 becomes low level when no abnormality is detectedand becomes high level when an abnormality is detected, for example.

The output current detection portion 80 uses bias means (not shown) soas to make a source voltage of the NMOSFET 21′ be coincide with theoutput voltage Vo, and thus sense current Is' (=Io/m) corresponding tothe output current Io is generated and output to the signal outputportion 90.

The signal output portion 90 selects one of the sense current Is'(corresponding to a detection result of the output current Io) and afixed voltage V90 (corresponding to an abnormality flag, not shown inthis diagram), on the basis of the output selection signal S2, so as tooutput the same to the external terminal T4. If the sense current Is' isselected and output, an output detection voltage V80 (i.e. Is′×R4)obtained by current-to-voltage conversion of the sense current Is' bythe external sense resistor 4 (having a resistance of R4) is transmittedto the ECU 2 as the status signal So. Note that the output detectionvoltage V80 is higher as the output current Io is larger and is lower asthe output current Io is smaller. In contrast, if the fixed voltage V90is selected and output, the fixed voltage V90 is transmitted to the ECU2 as the status signal So. Note that the fixed voltage V90 is preferablyset to a voltage value higher than an upper limit value of the outputdetection voltage V80.

According to this signal output portion 90, both the detection result ofthe output current Io and the abnormality flag can be transmitted to theECU 2 by using the single status signal So, and hence it is possible tocontribute to reduction in the number of external terminals. Note thatwhen reading a current value of the output current Io from the statussignal So, analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion of the status signal So isperformed. In contrast, when reading the abnormality flag from thestatus signal So, a logic level of the status signal So is determinedusing a threshold value a little lower than the fixed voltage V90.

<Gate Control Unit (First Structural Example)>

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a first structural example of thegate control unit 30. The gate control unit 30 of this structuralexample includes a gate driver 31, an oscillator 32, a charge pump 33, adamper 34, an NMOSFET 35, a resistor 36 (having a resistance of R36),and a capacitor 37 (having a capacitance of C37).

The gate driver 31 is connected between an output terminal of the chargepump 33 (i.e. an application terminal of a stepped-up voltage VG) and anexternal terminal T2 (i.e. the application terminal of the outputvoltage Vo), so as to generate the gate drive signal G1 whose currentcapacity is increased from that of the gate control signal S1. Note thatthe gate drive signal G1 becomes high level (i.e. VG) when the gatecontrol signal S1 is at high level and becomes low level (i.e. Vo) whenthe gate control signal S1 is at low level.

The oscillator 32 generates a clock signal CLK having a predeterminedfrequency and outputs it to the charge pump 33. Note that the oscillator32 is enabled or disabled by an enable signal Sa from the control logicportion 40.

The charge pump 33 drives a flying capacitor using the clock signal CLKso as to generate the stepped-up voltage VG that is higher than thepower supply voltage VBB. Note that the charge pump 33 is enabled ordisabled by an enable signal Sb from the control logic portion 40.

The damper 34 is connected between the external terminal T1 (i.e. theapplication terminal of the power supply voltage VBB) and the gate ofthe NMOSFET 10. In an application in which an inductive load 3 isconnected to the external terminal T2, when the NMOSFET 10 is switchedfrom on to off, a counter electromotive force of the load 3 makes theoutput voltage Vo be a negative voltage (<GND). For this reason, thedamper 34 (so-called active clamp circuit) is disposed for absorption ofenergy.

The drain of the NMOSFET 35 is connected to the gate of the NMOSFET 10.The source of the NMOSFET 35 is connected to the external terminal T2.The gate of the NMOSFET 35 is connected to the application terminal ofthe overcurrent protection signal S71. In addition, the resistor 36 andthe capacitor 37 are connected in series between the drain and gate ofthe NMOSFET 35.

When the overcurrent protection signal S71 is raised to high level inthe gate control unit 30 of this structural example, the gate drivesignal G1 is decreased from high level (i.e. VG) in the normal statewith a predetermined time constant τ (=R36×C37). As a result, aconduction degree of the NMOSFET 10 is gradually decreased, and hencethe output current Io is limited. On the contrary, when the overcurrentprotection signal S71 is reduced to low level, the gate drive signal G1is increased with the predetermined time constant τ. As a result, theconduction degree of the NMOSFET 10 is gradually increased, and hencethe limitation of the output current Io is cancelled.

In this way, the gate control unit 30 of this structural example has afunction to control the gate drive signal G1 so that the output currentIo is limited according to the overcurrent protection signal S71.

<Current Protection Circuit>

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a structural example of the overcurrentprotection circuit 71. The overcurrent protection circuit 71 of thisstructural example includes a reference current generation portion 110,a current mirror 120, a comparison portion 130, and a resistor 140(having a resistance of R140).

The reference current generation portion 110 generates a referencecurrent IREF. Note that the reference current generation portion 110 hasa function to decrease the reference current IREF to be linearly smalleras the power supply voltage VBB is higher when an output short circuitof the load 3 is detected (i.e. when a short circuit to ground from theexternal terminal T2 is detected in the case of high side switch IC).This point is described later.

The current mirror 120 mirrors the reference current IREF input to aninput terminal and outputs the same from the first output terminal andthe second output terminal, respectively.

The comparison portion 130 includes a pair of NMOSFETs 131 and 132 andhas a structure as a co-called current mirror type comparator.

The gates of the transistors 131 and 132 are both connected to the drainof the transistor 131. The drain of the transistor 131 is connected to afirst output terminal of the current mirror 120 and flows the referencecurrent IREF. The source of the transistor 131 is connected to a firstterminal of the resistor 140 (corresponding to an application terminalof a threshold value voltage Vth). The second terminal of the resistor140 is connected to the application terminal of the output voltage Vo(i.e. the external terminal T2). The drain of the transistor 132 isconnected to a second output terminal of the current mirror 120 andflows the reference current IREF. The drain of the transistor 132 isconnected also to an output terminal of the overcurrent protectionsignal S71. The source of the transistor 132 is connected to the sourceof the NMOSFET 21 and a first terminal of the sense resistor 22 (i.e. anapplication terminal of the sense voltage Vs). The second terminal ofthe sense resistor 22 is connected to the application terminal of theoutput voltage Vo (i.e. the external terminal T2). The drain of theNMOSFET 21 is connected to the application terminal of the power supplyvoltage VBB (i.e. the external terminal T1).

The comparison portion 130 of this structural example operates using theoutput voltage Vo as a reference potential, and compares the thresholdvalue voltage Vth corresponding to the reference current IREF(Vth=IREF×R140+Vo) with the sense voltage Vs (=Is×Rs+Vo) correspondingto the output current Io (sense current Is), so as to generate theovercurrent protection signal S71. Note that the overcurrent protectionsignal S71 becomes low level (i.e. a logic level when overcurrent is notdetected) when the sense voltage Vs is lower than the threshold valuevoltage Vth, and becomes high level (i.e. a logic level when overcurrentis detected) when the sense voltage Vs is higher than the thresholdvalue voltage Vth.

<Reference Current Generation Portion>

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structural example of the referencecurrent generation portion 110. The reference current generation portion110 of this structural example includes a voltage divider portion 111, adifferential amplifier portion 112, a lower side current generationportion 113, a lower side current control unit 114, an upper sidecurrent generation portion 115, and a difference current generationportion 116.

The voltage divider portion 111 includes resistors R1 and R2, and anN-channel MOS field effect transistor N1, so as to generate a dividedvoltage V1 (=VBB×(R2/(R1+R2))) corresponding to the power supply voltageVBB. The connection relationship of the components is as follows. Afirst terminal of the resistor R1 is connected to the applicationterminal of the power supply voltage VBB. A second terminal of theresistor R1 and a first terminal of the resistor R2 are connected to anoutput terminal of the divided voltage V1. A second terminal of theresistor R2 is connected to the drain of the transistor N1. The sourceof the transistor N1 is connected to the ground terminal. The gate ofthe transistor N1 is connected to an input terminal of an enable signalEN.

The transistor N1 is turned on when the enable signal EN is at highlevel, and is turned off when the enable signal EN is at low level.Therefore, the voltage divider portion 111 is enabled or disabledaccording to the enable signal EN. As the enable signal EN, it ispossible to use the external control signal Si, for example, which istransmitted from the external terminal T3 via the signal input portion50.

If the power supply voltage VBB is within an input dynamic range of thedifferential amplifier portion 112, the voltage divider portion 111 canbe eliminated, and the power supply voltage VBB can be directly input tothe differential amplifier portion 112.

The differential amplifier portion 112 includes an operational amplifierAMP1 and resistors R3 to R6, and it amplifies a difference value betweenthe divided voltage V1 and the predetermined reference voltage VREF soas to generate a differential amplified voltage V2. The connectionrelationship of the components is as follows. A first terminal of theresistor R3 is connected to an input terminal of the divided voltage V1.A second terminal of the resistor R3 and a first terminal of theresistor R4 are connected to a non-inverting input terminal (+) of theoperational amplifier AMP1. A second terminal of the resistor R4 isconnected to the ground terminal. A first terminal of the resistor R5 isconnected to an input terminal of the reference voltage VREF. A secondterminal of the resistor R5 and a first terminal of the resistor R6 areconnected to an inverting input terminal (−) of the operationalamplifier AMP1. A second terminal of the resistor R6 is connected to anoutput terminal of the operational amplifier AMP1 (i.e. an outputterminal of the differential amplified voltage V2).

In the differential amplifier portion 112 having the structure describedabove, the differential amplified voltage V2 can be calculated using thefollowing equation (1).

$\begin{matrix}{\lbrack {{Mathematical}\mspace{14mu} 1} \rbrack\mspace{571mu}} & \; \\{{V\; 2} = {{{\frac{R\;{2 \cdot R}\;{4 \cdot ( {{R\; 5} + {R\; 6}} )}}{{( {{R1} + {R\; 2}} ) \cdot ( {{R\; 3} + {R\; 4}} ) \cdot R}\; 5}{VBB}} - {\frac{R6}{R5}{VREF}}} = {{\alpha\;{VBB}} - {\beta\;{{VREF}( {{\alpha = \frac{R\;{2 \cdot R}\;{4 \cdot ( {{R\; 5} + {R\; 6}} )}}{{( {{R1} + {R\; 2}} ) \cdot ( {{R\; 3} + {R\; 4}} ) \cdot R}\; 5}},{\beta = \frac{R6}{R5}}} )}}}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

The above equation (1) holds when the power supply voltage VBB is higherthan a predetermined threshold value voltage VTH (=(β/α) VREF), and V2=0holds when the power supply voltage VBB is lower than the thresholdvalue voltage VTH. In other words, when VBB<VTH holds, a lower sidecurrent IL described later is zero.

Note that the threshold value voltage VTH should be set to a voltagevalue (e.g. 30 V) that is higher than a normal value Vnormal (e.g. 14 V)of the power supply voltage VBB and is lower than a maximum rated valueVmax (e.g. 40 V). According to this setting, as long as the power supplyvoltage VBB has a normal value Vnormal (or its approximate value), thereference current IREF (therefore an overcurrent limit value Iocd of theoutput current Io) is not decreased. Therefore, unnecessarily strictovercurrent limitation is not performed, and hence operational stabilityof the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1 is not lost.

The lower side current generation portion 113 includes an operationalamplifier AMP2, N-channel MOS field effect transistors N2 to N5, andP-channel MOS field effect transistors P1 and P2, so as to generate thelower side current IL corresponding to the differential amplifiedvoltage V2.

The connection relationship of the components is as follows. Anon-inverting input terminal (+) of the operational amplifier AMP2 isconnected to an application terminal of the differential amplifiedvoltage V2. An inverting input terminal (−) of the operational amplifierAMP2 and the source of the transistor N2 are connected to a firstterminal of a resistor R7. A second terminal of the resistor R7 isconnected to the ground terminal. An output terminal of the operationalamplifier AMP2 is connected to the gate of the transistor N2.

The operational amplifier AMP2 connected in this way controls the gateof the transistor N2 so that a virtual short circuit is formed betweenthe non-inverting input terminal (+) and the inverting input terminal(−). As a result, a variable current I1 (=V2/R7) corresponding to thedifferential amplified voltage V2 flows in the resistor R7. Note thatthe variable current I1 is larger as the differential amplified voltageV2 is higher, and is smaller as the differential amplified voltage V2 islower.

The drain of the transistor N2 is connected to the drain of thetransistor P1. The gates of the transistors P1 and P2 are both connectedto the drain of the transistor P1. The sources of the transistors P1 andP2 are both connected to the power supply terminal. The transistors P1and P2 connected in this way function as a first current mirror thatoutputs a mirror current I2 corresponding to the variable current I1(e.g. I2=I1) from the drain of the transistor P2.

The drain of the transistor P2 is connected to the drain of thetransistor N3. The gates of the transistors N3 and N4 are both connectedto the drain of the transistor N3. The sources of the transistors N3 andN4 are both connected to the ground terminal. The transistors N3 and N4connected in this way function as a second current mirror that outputsthe lower side current IL corresponding to the mirror current I2 (e.g.IL=I2) from the drain of the transistor N4.

The drain of the transistor N5 is connected to the drain of thetransistor N3. The source of the transistor N5 is connected to theground terminal. The gate of the transistor N5 is connected to an inputterminal of a lower side current control signal S114. The transistor N5connected in this way is turned on when the lower side current controlsignal S114 is at high level (i.e. a logic level when being disabled),and is turned off when the lower side current control signal S114 is atlow level (i.e. a logic level when being enabled).

Note that when the transistor N5 is turned on, the gate and the sourceof each of the transistors N3 and N4 are short-circuited to each other,and hence the second current mirror is disabled. Therefore, the lowerside current IL is fixed to zero. On the contrary, when the transistorN5 is turned off, the gate and the source of each of the transistors N3and N4 are disconnected from each other, and hence the second currentmirror is enabled. In this case, the lower side current IL has a currentvalue corresponding to the mirror current I2 (therefore the variablecurrent I1). As a result, the lower side current IL is larger as thedifferential amplified voltage V2 is higher, and is smaller as thedifferential amplified voltage V2 is lower.

The lower side current control unit 114 generates the lower side currentcontrol signal S114 described above. Note that an internal structure ofthe lower side current control unit 114 is described later.

The upper side current generation portion 115 generates a predeterminedupper side current IH. Note that it is preferred to appropriately setthe upper side current IH according to an on-resistance and a withstandvoltage of the NMOSFET 10, so that the semiconductor integrated circuitdevice 1 is not damaged even if an output short circuit of the load 3occurs.

The difference current generation portion 116 includes N-channel MOSfield effect transistors N6 and N7, and generates a difference currentID (=IH-IL) obtained by subtracting the lower side current IL from theupper side current IH, so as to output it as the reference current IREF.

The connection relationship of the components is as follows. The drainof the transistor N6 is connected to an output terminal of the lowerside current generation portion 113 (i.e. the drain of the transistorN4) and an output terminal of the upper side current generation portion115. The gates of the transistors N6 and N7 are both connected to thedrain of the transistor N6. The sources of the transistors N6 and N7 areboth connected to the ground terminal. The transistors N6 and N7connected in this way function as a third current mirror that outputsthe reference current IREF corresponding to the difference current ID(e.g. IREF=ID) from the drain of the transistor N7.

<Lower Side Current Control Unit>

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a first structural example of the lowerside current control unit 114. The lower side current control unit 114of this structural example includes an output short circuit detectionportion 114A, an overcurrent detection portion 114B, and a NAND gate114C.

The output short circuit detection portion 114A monitors the outputvoltage Vo and detects an output short circuit of the load 3 (i.e. ashort circuit to ground from the external terminal T2 in the case of thehigh side switch IC), so as to generate an output short circuitdetection signal SA. The output short circuit detection signal SAbecomes low level when no abnormality is detected, and becomes highlevel when an abnormality is detected.

The overcurrent detection portion 114B monitors the sense voltage Vs anddetects an overcurrent abnormality of the output current Io, so as togenerate an overcurrent detection signal SB. The overcurrent detectionsignal SB becomes low level when no abnormality is detected, and becomeshigh level when an abnormality is detected. Note that the overcurrentdetection portion 114B corresponds to the comparison portion 130described above (see FIG. 3 ), and the overcurrent detection signal SBcorresponds to the overcurrent protection signal S71.

The NAND gate 114C generates a NAND signal between the output shortcircuit detection signal SA and the overcurrent detection signal SB, andoutputs it as the lower side current control signal S114. Therefore, thelower side current control signal S114 becomes high level (i.e. a logiclevel when being disabled) when at least one of the output short circuitdetection signal SA and the overcurrent detection signal SB is at lowlevel, and becomes low level (i.e. a logic level when being enabled)when both the output short circuit detection signal SA and theovercurrent detection signal SB are at high level.

In other words, the lower side current control unit 114 of thisstructural example generates the lower side current control signal S114,so as to stop output of the lower side current IL when at least one ofan output short circuit of the load 3 and an overcurrent abnormality ofthe output current Io is not detected.

With this structure, in normal operation, the reference current IREF(therefore the overcurrent limit value Iocd of the output current Io) isnot decreased. Consequently, unnecessarily strict overcurrent limitationis not performed, and hence operational stability of the semiconductorintegrated circuit device 1 is not lost.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a second structural example of thelower side current control unit 114. The lower side current control unit114 of this structural example is based on the first structural example(FIG. 5 ) and further includes an overvoltage detection portion 114D.

The overvoltage detection portion 114D monitors the power supply voltageVBB and detects its overvoltage abnormality, so as to generate anovervoltage detection signal SD. The overvoltage detection signal SDbecomes low level when no abnormality is detected, and becomes highlevel when an abnormality is detected. Note that as the overvoltagedetection portion 114D, it is possible to use a comparator that comparesthe divided voltage V1 with a predetermined threshold value voltage VTH2(=(R2/(R1+R2)) VTH).

In other words, the lower side current control unit 114 of thisstructural example generates the lower side current control signal S114so as to stop output of the lower side current IL, not only when atleast one of an output short circuit of the load 3 and an overcurrentabnormality of the output current Io is not detected, but also when noovervoltage abnormality of the power supply voltage VBB is detected.

With this structure, when VBB<VTH holds, even if the differentialamplified voltage V2 is raised from zero because of a certain cause(such as an input offset of the operational amplifier AMP1) so that thevariable current I1 (and the mirror current I2 corresponding to thevariable current I1) unintentionally flows out, the lower side currentIL can be fixed to zero. Therefore, until VBB becomes higher than VTH, adecrease of the reference current IREF (therefore the overcurrent limitvalue Iocd of the output current Io) can be securely stopped.

<Output Short Circuit Detection Portion>

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a structural example of the outputshort circuit detection portion 114A. The output short circuit detectionportion 114A of this structural example includes resistors A1 and A2, aP-channel MOS field effect transistor A3, N-channel MOS field effecttransistors A4 to A6, and an inverter A7. Note that the transistors A3and A5 are enhancement types, and the transistors A4 and A6 aredepletion types.

A first terminal of the resistor A1 is connected to the applicationterminal of the power supply voltage VBB (i.e. the external terminalT1). A first terminal of the resistor A2 is connected to the applicationterminal of the output voltage Vo (i.e. the external terminal T2).Second terminals of the resistors A1 and A2 are connected to the gate ofthe transistor A3. The source of the transistor A3 is connected to theapplication terminal of the power supply voltage VBB. The drain of thetransistor A3 is connected to the drain of the transistor A4 and thegate of the transistor A5. The source and gate of the transistor A4 andthe source of the transistor A5 are connected to an application terminalof a constant voltage VBBM5.

Note that the constant voltage VBBM5 is an internal voltage of thesemiconductor integrated circuit device 1 and is approximately VBB-5 V.

The drain of the transistor A6 is connected to the application terminalof the power supply voltage VBB. The source and gate of the transistorA6 and the drain of the transistor A5 are connected to an input terminalof the inverter A7. An output terminal of the inverter A7 is connectedto an output terminal of the output short circuit detection signal SA. Afirst power supply terminal of the inverter A7 (high potential side) isconnected to the application terminal of the power supply voltage VBB. Asecond power supply terminal of the inverter A7 (low potential side) isconnected to an application terminal of the constant voltage VBBM5.

In the output short circuit detection portion 114A of this structuralexample, when the output voltage Vo becomes lower than predeterminedvalue (e.g. VBB-3 V), the transistor A3 is turned on, and the transistorA5 is turned on. As a result, an input signal to the inverter A7 becomeslow level, and hence the output short circuit detection signal SAbecomes high level (i.e. a logic level when an abnormality is detected).

In this way, the output short circuit detection portion 114A of thisstructural example can detect an output short circuit of the load 3(i.e. a short circuit to ground from the external terminal T2) with avery simple circuit structure.

<Linear Control of Overcurrent Limit Value>

Next, technical meaning of introducing a linear control function of theovercurrent limit value Iocd is described in detail. In thesemiconductor integrated circuit device 1, power consumption Pc of theNMOSFET 10 (Pc=Io×Vds, where Vds is a drain-source voltage of theNMOSFET 10) becomes maximum when an output short circuit of the load 3occurs (a short circuit to ground in the high side switch IC, or a shortcircuit to power supply voltage in the low side switch IC).

Note that when an output short circuit of the load 3 occurs so thatovercurrent limitation of the output current Io is performed, Io=Iocdholds, and Vds=VBB holds. As a result, the maximum value of the powerconsumption Pc (i.e. Iocd×VBB) is proportional to each of theovercurrent limit value Iocd of the output current Io and the powersupply voltage VBB. Therefore, it is understood that the overcurrentlimit value Iocd of the output current Io should be decreased, in orderto reduce the power consumption Pc or keep constant the same when anoutput short circuit of the load 3 occurs.

However, the load 3 to be driven by the semiconductor integrated circuitdevice 1 may require an instantaneous large output current Io in thenormal operation. For instance, an inrush current larger than normaloperation current flows instantaneously in startup of a capacitive loadsuch as a bulb lamp. Therefore, if the overcurrent limit value Iocd issimply set to a lower value, the load 3 may not be supplied with anappropriate output current Io, so that normal operation of thesemiconductor integrated circuit device 1 may be interfered.

Therefore, it is important to set the overcurrent limit value Iocd to anoriginal set value in the normal operation of the semiconductorintegrated circuit device 1, and to appropriately decrease theovercurrent limit value Iocd from the original set value when it isnecessary to reduce the power consumption Pc or keep constant the same.Such linear control of the overcurrent limit value Iocd is specificallydescribed below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing linear control of the reference currentIREF (therefore the overcurrent limit value Iocd of the output currentIo), in which the power supply voltage VBB, the lower side current IL,and the reference current IREF (=IH−IL) are shown in order from top tobottom. As an assumption of this chart, it is supposed that an outputshort circuit of the load 3 and an overcurrent abnormality of the outputcurrent Io are both detected in the semiconductor integrated circuitdevice 1 (SA=SB=H in FIG. 5 or 6 ).

The power supply voltage VBB is maintained at the normal value Vnormal(<VTH) until time t1. Therefore, the lower side current IL is zero sothat the reference current IREF is equal to the upper side current IH.Note that IL=0 holds because the differential amplified voltage V2 iszero when VBB<VTH holds. In addition, if the lower side current controlunit 114 adopts the second structural example (FIG. 6 ) described above,even if the differential amplified voltage V2 is raised from zerobecause of a certain cause, the lower side current IL is fixed to zero.This point is already described above.

At the time t1, the power supply voltage VBB starts to increase from thenormal value Vnormal. However, from the time t1 to time t2, VBB<VTHstill holds, and hence the lower side current IL is maintained at zerosimilarly to before the time t1. Therefore, the reference current IREFis not decreased and is maintained at the same value as the upper sidecurrent IH.

At the time t2, when the power supply voltage VBB becomes higher thanthe threshold value voltage VTH, the lower side current IL starts toflow, thereby the reference current IREF is decreased. Note that thelower side current IL increases higher as the power supply voltage VBBis higher. Therefore, the reference current IREF decreases along with anincrease in the power supply voltage VBB.

When the power supply voltage VBB changes from increase to decrease attime t3, the lower side current IL starts to decrease, and hence thereference current IREF changes from decrease to increase. However, fromthe time t3 to time t4, VBB>VTH still holds, and hence the lower sidecurrent IL continues to flow. As a result, the reference current IREF isstill decreased corresponding to the lower side current IL.

When the power supply voltage VBB becomes lower than the threshold valuevoltage VTH at the time t4, the lower side current IL does not flow.Therefore, the reference current IREF is not decreased any more andreturns to the same value as the upper side current IH.

After time t5, the power supply voltage VBB is maintained at the normalvalue Vnormal (<VTH) again. Therefore, the lower side current IL doesnot flow, and the reference current IREF is maintained at the upper sidecurrent IH.

As described above, in the overcurrent protection circuit 71, when anoutput short circuit of the load 3 is detected (SA=H), and when anabnormality of overcurrent of the output current Io is detected (SB=H),only in the case where the power supply voltage VBB is higher than thepredetermined threshold value voltage VTH, the reference current IREF(therefore the overcurrent limit value Iocd of the output current Io) islinearly decreased according to a difference value between the powersupply voltage VBB and the threshold value voltage VTH (i.e. VBB−VTH).

FIG. 9 is a correlation diagram between the power supply voltage VBB andthe overcurrent limit value Iocd as well as the power consumption Pc. Asshown in this diagram, in the overcurrent protection circuit 71, it ispreferred to decrease the overcurrent limit value Iocd of the outputcurrent Io, so that the power consumption Pc in the NMOSFET 10 becomesconstant in a voltage range of the power supply voltage VB higher thanthe predetermined threshold value voltage VTH (Vnormal<VTH<VBB<Vmax).

As described above, in the overcurrent protection circuit 71 having thelinear control function of the overcurrent limit value Iocd, when anoutput short circuit of the load 3 (and an overcurrent abnormality ofthe output current Io due to the same) is generated, even if anovervoltage abnormality of the power supply voltage VBB further occurs,the power consumption Pc of the NMOSFET 10 can be reduced or keptconstant by appropriately decreasing the overcurrent limit value Iocd ofthe output current Io.

In a switch device like the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1proposed above, in a low on-resistance range (e.g. a few mΩ to a fewtens of mΩ) in which relatively large output current flows, or in aswitch device for in-vehicle use that is not allowed to be destroyed inany case, it is very effective to have the linear control function ofthe overcurrent limit value Iocd described above as one measure againstan output short circuit.

<Gate Control Unit (Second Structural Example)>

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a second structural example ofthe gate control unit 30 and its periphery. The gate control unit 30 ofthis structural example includes the gate driver 31, the oscillator 32,the charge pump 33, the damper 34, NMOSFETs 35 a and 35 b, the resistor36 (having a resistance of R36), and the capacitor 37 (having acapacitance of C37).

The gate driver 31 is connected between an output terminal of the chargepump 33 (i.e. an application terminal of the stepped-up voltage VG) andthe external terminal T2 (i.e. the application terminal of the outputvoltage Vo), so as to generate the gate drive signal G1 whose currentcapacity is increased from that of the gate control signal S1. Note thatthe gate drive signal G1 is basically becomes high level (i.e. VG) whenthe gate control signal S1 is at high level, and becomes low level (i.e.Vo) when the gate control signal S1 is at low level.

The oscillator 32 generates the clock signal CLK having a predeterminedfrequency and outputs it to the charge pump 33. Note that the oscillator32 is enabled or disabled according to the enable signal Sa from thecontrol logic portion 40.

The charge pump 33 drives the flying capacitor (not shown) using theclock signal CLK so as to generate the stepped-up voltage VG higher thanthe power supply voltage VBB. Note that the charge pump 33 is enabled ordisabled according to the enable signal Sb from the control logicportion 40.

The damper 34 is connected between the external terminal T1 (i.e. theapplication terminal of the power supply voltage VBB) and the gate ofthe NMOSFET 10. In an application in which the inductive load 3 isconnected to the external terminal T2, when the NMOSFET 10 is switchedfrom on to off, a counter electromotive force of the load 3 makes theoutput voltage Vo become a negative voltage (<GND). For this reason, thedamper 34 (so-called active clamp circuit) is disposed for absorption ofenergy.

The drain of the NMOSFET 35 a is connected to the gate of the NMOSFET10. The source of the NMOSFET 35 a is connected to the external terminalT2. Note that the gate of the NMOSFET 35 a is applied with a firstovercurrent protection signal S71 a (corresponding to the overcurrentprotection signal S71 described above) from the overcurrent protectioncircuit 71. In addition, the resistor 36 and the capacitor 37 areconnected in series between the drain and gate of the NMOSFET 35 a.

The drain of the NMOSFET 35 b is connected to the gate of the NMOSFET10. The source of the NMOSFET 35 b is connected to the external terminalT2. The gate of the NMOSFET 35 b is applied with a second overcurrentprotection signal S71 b from the overcurrent protection circuit 71.However, neither a resistor nor a capacitor is connected between thedrain and gate of the NMOSFET 35 b unlike the NMOSFET 35 a.

In the gate control unit 30 of this structural example, the NMOSFET 35 ais turned off when the first overcurrent protection signal S71 a is atlow level (i.e. a logic level when no abnormality is detected), and isturned on when the first overcurrent protection signal S71 a is at highlevel (i.e. a logic level when an abnormality is detected). Therefore,when the first overcurrent protection signal S71 a is raised to highlevel, the gate drive signal G1 is decreased from high level (i.e. VG)in the normal state with the predetermined time constant τ (=R36×C37).As a result, the conduction degree of the NMOSFET 10 is graduallydecreased, so that the output current Io is limited. In contrast, whenthe first overcurrent protection signal S71 a is decreased to low level,the gate drive signal G1 is increased with the predetermined timeconstant τ. As a result, the conduction degree of the NMOSFET 10 isgradually increased, and hence limitation of the output current Io iscancelled.

In addition, the NMOSFET 35 b is turned off when the second overcurrentprotection signal S71 b is at low level (i.e. a logic level when theforced turn-off is cancelled), and is turned on when the secondovercurrent protection signal S71 b is at high level (i.e. a logic levelin the forced turn-off). Therefore, when the second overcurrentprotection signal S71 b is raised to high level, the gate and source ofthe NMOSFET 10 are short-circuited, so that the NMOSFET 10 is forciblyturned off, and the output current Io is cut off without delay. Incontrast, when the second overcurrent protection signal S71 b isdecreased to low level, the gate and source of the NMOSFET 10 aredisconnected, and hence the forced turn-off of the NMOSFET 10 iscancelled.

<Current Protection Circuit (First Embodiment)>

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of theovercurrent protection circuit 71. The overcurrent protection circuit 71of this embodiment includes a current control unit 210 and a dutycontrol unit 220.

The current control unit 210 compares the sense voltage Vs(corresponding to the output current Io) with the predeterminedthreshold value voltage Vth (corresponding to the upper limit value Iocdof the output current Io, not shown in this diagram), so as to generatethe first overcurrent protection signal S71 a to control the conductiondegree of the NMOSFET 10. In addition, the current control unit 210 alsohas a function of generating a status notification signal S210 fornotifying the duty control unit 220 that the current control unit 210limits the output current Io (S71 a=H) based on a result of thecomparison described above.

The duty control unit 220 is an example of an intermittent control unitthat intermittently drives the NMOSFET 10 when an overcurrent isdetected, and receives the status notification signal S210 so as togenerate the second overcurrent protection signal S71 b. Morespecifically, when the current limiting operation of the current controlunit 210 (S71 a=H) continues for a predetermined on period Ton, the dutycontrol unit 220 generates the second overcurrent protection signal S71b so that the NMOSFET 10 is turned off for a predetermined off periodToff.

<Current Control Unit>

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram illustrating a structural example of thecurrent control unit 210. The current control unit 210 of thisstructural example includes a current source 211, a resistor 212 (havinga resistance of Rref), a comparator 213, an NMOSFET 214, PMOSFETs 215and 216, a depletion type NMOSFET 217, and a zener diode 218.

A first terminal of the current source 211 and a power supply potentialterminal of the comparator 213 are both connected to an applicationterminal of the stepped-up voltage VG. A second terminal of the currentsource 211 and a first terminal of the resistor 212 are both connectedto an inverting input terminal (−) of the comparator 213. Anon-inverting input terminal (+) of the comparator 213 is applied withthe sense voltage Vs. A second terminal of the resistor 212 and areference potential terminal of the comparator 213 are both connected tothe application terminal of the output voltage Vo. An output terminal ofthe comparator 213 corresponds to an output terminal of the firstovercurrent protection signal S71 a.

The gate of the NMOSFET 214 is connected to an output terminal of thecomparator 213. The source of the NMOSFET 214 is connected to theapplication terminal of the output voltage Vo. The drain of the NMOSFET214 is connected to the drain of the PMOSFET 215. The sources of thePMOSFETs 215 and 216 are both connected to the application terminal ofthe stepped-up voltage VG. The gates of the PMOSFETs 215 and 216 areboth connected to the drain of the PMOSFET 215. The drain of the PMOSFET216 is connected to the drain of the NMOSFET 217 and the cathode of thezener diode 218. The gate and source of the NMOSFET 217 and the anode ofthe zener diode 218 are both connected to the ground terminal GND. Notethat the drain of the PMOSFET 216 corresponds to an output terminal ofthe status notification signal S210.

The current source 211 generates a predetermined reference current Irefand supplies it to the resistor 212. Therefore, the inverting inputterminal (−) of the comparator 213 is applied with the predeterminedthreshold value voltage Vth (=Iref×Rref). Note that a voltage value ofthe threshold value voltage Vth is set appropriately according to theupper limit value Iocd of the output current Io.

The comparator 213 compares the sense voltage Vs input to thenon-inverting input terminal (+) with the threshold value voltage Vthinput to the inverting input terminal (−), so as to generate the firstovercurrent protection signal S71 a. The first overcurrent protectionsignal S71 a becomes low level (i.e. a logic level when no abnormalityis detected) when the sense voltage Vs is lower than the threshold valuevoltage Vth, and becomes high level (i.e. a logic level when anabnormality is detected) when the sense voltage Vs is higher than thethreshold value voltage Vth.

The NMOSFET 214 becomes turned off when the first overcurrent protectionsignal S71 a is at low level, and becomes turned on when the firstovercurrent protection signal S71 a is at high level. The PMOSFETs 215and 216 form a current mirror, which mirrors a drain current Id1 of thePMOSFET 215 so as to generate a drain current Id2 of the PMOSFET 216.The depletion type NMOSFET 217 functions as a constant current sourcebecause the gate and source thereof are connected to each other. Thezener diode 218 functions as a clamp element that limits the upper limitvalue of the status notification signal S210.

In the current control unit 210 of this structural example, when thefirst overcurrent protection signal S71 a is at low level, the NMOSFET214 is turned off, and hence a current path from the drain of thePMOSFET 215 to the application terminal of the output voltage Vo isdisconnected. Therefore, the drain currents Id1 and Id2 do not flow, andthe status notification signal S210 becomes low level (i.e. a logiclevel when the limitation of the output current Io is cancelled).

On the contrary, when the first overcurrent protection signal S71 a isat high level, the NMOSFET 214 is turned on, and hence the current pathdescribed above is connected. Therefore, the drain currents Id1 and Id2flow, and the status notification signal S210 is at high level (i.e. alogic level when the output current Io is limited).

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram illustrating a variation of the currentcontrol unit 210. The current control unit 210 of this variation isbased on the circuit structure of FIG. 12 and includes NMOSFETs 213 aand 213 b and a current source 213 c as circuit elements that substitutethe comparator 213.

The first terminals of the current sources 211 and 213 c are bothconnected to the application terminal of the stepped-up voltage VG. Thesecond terminal of the current source 211 is connected to the drain ofthe NMOSFET 213 a. A second terminal of the current source 213 c isconnected to the drain of the NMOSFET 213 b. The source of the NMOSFET213 a is connected to the first terminal of the resistor 212. The secondterminal of the resistor 212 is connected to the application terminal ofthe output voltage Vo. The gates of the NMOSFET 213 a and the NMOSFET213 b are both connected to the drain of the NMOSFET 213 a. The sourceof the NMOSFET 213 b is applied with the sense voltage Vs. Note that thedrain of the NMOSFET 213 b corresponds to the output terminal of thefirst overcurrent protection signal S71 a.

In this way, in the current control unit 210, it may be possible toadopt a comparison circuit using a current mirror as a circuit elementthat substitutes the comparator 213 in FIG. 12 .

<Current Protection Operation>

FIG. 14 is a timing chart showing an example of an overcurrentprotection operation, in which the output current Io, the firstovercurrent protection signal S71 a, and the second overcurrentprotection signal S71 b are shown in order from top to bottom.

Before the time t1, the NMOSFET 10 is turned on so that thepredetermined output current Io flows. In this case, if Io<Iocd holds,the first overcurrent protection signal S71 a and the second overcurrentprotection signal S71 b are both at low level, and hence the overcurrentprotection operation is not performed.

If an output short circuit of the load 3 (i.e. a short circuit to groundfrom the external terminal T2) or the like occurs at the time t1 so thatthe output current Io is increased to the upper limit value Iocd, thefirst overcurrent protection signal S71 a is raised to high level. As aresult, the output current Io is limited to the upper limit value Iocdor less. Further in this case, the duty control unit 220 starts to countthe predetermined on period Ton (e.g. a few μsec to a few tens of μsec).Note that the second overcurrent protection signal S71 b is maintainedat low level until the count operation of the on period Ton iscompleted. Therefore, the NMOSFET 10 is not forcibly turned off.

When the count operation of the on period Ton is completed at the timet2 with the overcurrent limiting operation performed (S71 a=H) by thecurrent control unit 210, the second overcurrent protection signal S71 bis raised to high level. As a result, the MOSFET 10 is forcibly turnedoff so that the output current Io does not flow, and hence the firstovercurrent protection signal S71 a is decreased to low level. Furtherin this case, the duty control unit 220 starts to count thepredetermined off period Toff (e.g. a few hundreds of μsec). Note thatthe second overcurrent protection signal S71 b is maintained at highlevel until the count operation of the off time Toff is completed.

When the count operation of the off time Toff is completed at the timet3, the second overcurrent protection signal S71 b is decreased to lowlevel. As a result, the forced turn-off of the MOSFET 10 is cancelled,and hence the output current Io starts to flow again. In this case, ifthe output short circuit of the semiconductor integrated circuit device1 is not cancelled, the output current Io is raised again to the upperlimit value Iocd. As a result, also after the time t3, the overcurrentprotection operation similar to the above description is repeated.

In other words, after the time t1, the NMOSFET 10 alternately repeatsthe on period Ton and the off period Toff with a predetermined dutyratio Don (=Ton/T, where T=Ton+Toff).

Note that the duty ratio Don should be appropriately set so thatjunction temperature Tj of the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1(particularly inside or in a vicinity of the NMOSFET 10) is securelydecreased to a safe temperature range. For instance, the junctiontemperature Tj is not maintained in a high temperature range (150 to 175degrees Celsius) after the time t1 if Don is set to approximately 4%,and it can be decreased to a sufficiently safe temperature range(approximately 70 to 80 degrees Celsius). Thus, safety of thesemiconductor integrated circuit device 1 can be enhanced.

In this way, as an overcurrent protection method in the overcurrentprotection circuit 71 of the first embodiment, a method of limiting theoutput current Io to the upper limit value Iocd or less without turningoff the same (a so-called current limit method) and a method ofintermittently turning on and off the output current Io with apredetermined duty ratio Don (a so-called duty control method) arecombined.

In particular, the duty control method described above can be said to bea very effective control method to clear a reliability test unique toin-vehicle devices (e.g. a load short-circuit reliability test (such asautomotive electronics council (AEC) Q100-012) to evaluate safety in ashort circuit to power supply voltage or to ground from the outputterminal).

However, the duty control method described above has bad compatibilitywith a capacitive load. This drawback is considered below.

<Start-Up Delay Occurrence>

FIG. 15 is a timing chart showing a manner in which startup delay occursdue to the duty control, in which the external control signal Si, theoutput voltage Vo, and the output current Io are shown in order from topto bottom.

When the external control signal Si is raised to high level at time t11,the NMOSFET 10 is turned on so that the output current Io starts toflow. In this case, if a capacitive load such as a bulb lamp isconnected as the load 3, or if an external capacitor is connected inparallel to the load 3, the output current Io larger than the upperlimit value Iocd (i.e. inrush current) transiently flows untilsufficient charge is stored in the capacitance. Therefore, the outputcurrent Io is limited to the predetermined upper limit value Iocd orless by the overcurrent protection operation of the current limitmethod.

In addition, when the on period Ton from the time t11 elapses at timet12, the NMOSFET 10 is forcibly turned off by the overcurrent protectionoperation of the duty control method. Therefore, the output current Iocannot flow into the capacitive load or the external capacitor connectedto the external terminal T2, and hence the increase in the outputvoltage Vo (i.e. charging of the capacitance) is stopped.

Therefore, if the output voltage Vo does not reach a target valueVtarget (approximately VBB) before the overcurrent protection operationby the duty control method is performed, the output voltage Vo is raisedstep by step. As a result, startup time of the output voltage Vo isincreased.

Note that in this chart, the NMOSFET 10 is turned on again at time t13,and consequently the output voltage Vo reaches the target value Vtarget(approximately VBB). In other words, the output voltage Vo is raised intwo steps. However, the number of startup steps of the output voltage Vomay be further increased depending on a capacitance of the load 3 or avoltage value of the power supply voltage VBB, and a startup failure mayoccur depending on a set.

Further, if the duty control unit 220 is simply eliminated in order tocancel the startup delay or the startup failure described above, theforced turn-off control of the NMOSFET 10 is charged on the temperatureprotection circuit 73. As a result, when an output short circuit of theload 3 occurs, the NMOSFET 10 continues to turn on and off in the hightemperature range (e.g. 150 to 175 degrees Celsius) in which detectionand cancellation of the temperature abnormality due to the overcurrentare repeated, and hence safety of the semiconductor integrated circuitdevice 1 is sacrificed.

As means for achieving both stable startup and functional safety of thesemiconductor integrated circuit device 1, a second embodiment of theovercurrent protection circuit 71 is proposed below.

<Current Protection Circuit (Second Embodiment)>

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating the second embodiment of theovercurrent protection circuit 71. The overcurrent protection circuit 71of this embodiment is based on the first embodiment (FIG. 11 ) describedabove, and further includes an output voltage monitoring portion 230.Accordingly, the same structural element as the first embodiment isdenoted by the same numeral or symbol as in FIG. 11 so that overlappingdescription is omitted, and characteristic parts of this embodiment aremainly described below.

The output voltage monitoring portion 230 generates an output voltagemonitor signal S230 so that the duty control unit 220 is disabled untilthe output voltage Vo applied to the load 3 becomes its target valueVtarget (approximately VBB). The output voltage monitor signal S230 isat low level (i.e. a logic level when the duty control is disabled) whenVo<Vtarget (approximately VBB) holds, and is at high level (i.e. a logiclevel when the duty control is enabled) when Vo=Vtarget (approximatelyVBB) holds.

<Output Voltage Monitoring Portion>

FIG. 17 is a circuit diagram illustrating a structural example of theoutput voltage monitoring portion 230. The output voltage monitoringportion 230 of this structural example includes N-channel MOS fieldeffect transistors N11 to N20, P-channel MOS field effect transistorsP11 and P12, and zener diodes ZD1 to ZD3. Note that the transistors N11to N13 are all enhancement types, and the transistors N14 to N20 are alldepletion types.

The drain of the transistor N15 is connected to an application terminalof an internal voltage VBBREF (approximately VBB). The source and gateof the transistor N15 are connected to the drains of the transistors N11and N14 and the cathode of the zener diode ZD1. The gates of thetransistors N11 and N12 are both connected to the drain of thetransistor N11. The sources of the transistors N11 and N12, the sourceand gate of the transistor N14, and the anode of the zener diode ZD1 areall connected to the application terminal of the output voltage Vo (i.e.the external terminal T2). Note that the transistors N11 and N12connected in this way function as a current mirror CM.

The drains of the transistors N16 to N18 and the cathode of the zenerdiode ZD2 are all connected to the application terminal of the powersupply voltage VBB (i.e. the external terminal T1). The source and gateof the transistor N16, the anode of a zener diode ZD2, and the gate ofthe transistor P11 are all connected to the drain of the transistor N12.The source and gate of the transistor N17 are connected to the source ofthe transistor P11. The source and gate of the transistor N18 areconnected to the source of the transistor P12.

The drain of the transistor P11 is connected to the gate of thetransistor P12 and the drain of the transistor N13. The source of thetransistor N13 is connected to the drain of the transistor N19. The gateof the transistor N13 is connected to an input terminal of the enablesignal EN. The source and gate of the transistor N19 are connected to anapplication terminal of the internal voltage VBBM5 (approximately VBB-5V). As the transistor P11 that works between VBB and VBBM5, a lowwithstand voltage element (e.g. a withstand voltage of a few volts) canbe used.

The drain of the transistor P12 is connected to the drain of thetransistor N20, the cathode of the zener diode ZD3, and an outputterminal of the output voltage monitor signal S230. The source and gateof the transistor N20 and the anode of the zener diode ZD3 are allconnected to the ground terminal. As the transistor P12 that worksbetween VBB and GND, it is necessary to use a high withstand voltageelement (e.g. a withstand voltage of a few tens of volts).

Next, an operation of output voltage monitoring portion 230 isdescribed. When the external control signal Si is raised to high levelso that the NMOSFET 10 is turned on, the output voltage Vo starts torise from 0 V at a predetermined slew rate. In this case, just after theNMOSFET 10 is turned on, a potential difference larger than an onthreshold voltage of each of the transistors N11 and N12 is generatedbetween VBBREF and Vo. Therefore, the current mirror CM is enabled sothat a mirror current Im flows in the drain of the transistor N12.Consequently, a gate voltage V11 of the transistor P11 becomes low level(substantially the output voltage Vo). As a result, the transistor P11is turned on, and a gate voltage V12 of the transistor P12 becomes highlevel (substantially the power supply voltage VBB), so that thetransistor P12 is turned off, and the output voltage monitor signal S230becomes low level (i.e. a logic level when the duty control isdisabled).

After that, the potential difference between VBBREF and Vo is decreasedalong with an increase of the output voltage Vo. When the output voltageVo reaches its target value Vtarget (approximately VBB), the potentialdifference between VBBREF and Vo becomes less than the on thresholdvoltages of the transistors N11 and N12. Therefore the current mirror CMis disabled so that the mirror current Im does not flow in the drain ofthe transistor N12, and hence the gate voltage V11 of the transistor P11becomes high level (substantially the power supply voltage VBB). As aresult, the transistor P11 is turned off, and the gate voltage V12 ofthe transistor P12 becomes low level (substantially the internal voltageVBBM5), so that the transistor P12 is turned off. Consequently, theoutput voltage monitor signal S230 becomes high level (i.e. a logiclevel when the duty control is enabled).

In this way, the output voltage monitoring portion 230 of thisstructural example can detect whether or not the output voltage Vo hasreached the target value Vtarget (approximately VBB) with a very simplecircuit structure.

Note that the transistor N13 is turned on when the enable signal EN isat high level and is turned off when the enable signal EN is at lowlevel. Therefore, the output voltage monitoring portion 230 is enabledor disabled according to the enable signal EN. As the enable signal EN,it is possible to use the external control signal Si transmitted fromthe external terminal T3 via the signal input portion 50.

<Cancellation of Startup Delay>

FIG. 18 is a timing chart showing a manner in which the startup delay iscancelled by introducing the output voltage monitoring portion 230, inwhich the external control signal Si, the output voltage Vo, the outputvoltage monitor signal S230, and the output current Io are shown inorder from top to bottom. Note that solid lines in this chart indicatebehaviors in the second embodiment (with the output voltage monitor),while broken lines in this chart indicate behaviors in the firstembodiment (without the output voltage monitor).

When the external control signal Si is raised to high level at time t21,the NMOSFET 10 is turned on so that the output current Io starts toflow. In this case, if a capacitive load such as a bulb lamp isconnected as the load 3, or if an external capacitor is connected inparallel to the load 3, the output current Io larger than the upperlimit value Iocd (i.e. inrush current) transiently flows untilsufficient charge is stored in the capacitance. Therefore, the outputcurrent Io is limited to the predetermined upper limit value Iocd orless by the overcurrent protection operation of the current limitmethod. This point is the same as already described above with referenceto FIG. 15 .

In contrast, the operation of the duty control unit 220 is disabled bythe output voltage monitor signal S230 maintained at low level until theoutput voltage Vo reaches its target value Vtarget (approximately VBB).Therefore, when the on period Ton elapses from the time t21, the NMOSFET10 is not forcibly turned off, and the overcurrent protection operationof the current limit method is continued. Therefore, the output currentIo can continuously flow to the capacitive load or the externalcapacitor connected to the external terminal T2, so that the outputvoltage Vo can rise without delay, and hence the startup time of theoutput voltage Vo can be reduced.

After that, when the output voltage Vo reaches its target value Vtarget(approximately VBB) at time t22 so that the output voltage monitorsignal S230 is raised to high level, the duty control unit 220 isenabled. As a result, after the time t22, if an overcurrent abnormalityof the output current Io due to an output short circuit of the load 3occurs, the overcurrent protection operation of the duty control methoddescribed above is enabled. Therefore, the junction temperature Tj ofthe semiconductor integrated circuit device 1 is not maintained in thehigh temperature range (150 to 175 degrees Celsius), and it can bedecreased to the sufficiently safe temperature range (approximately 70to 80 degrees Celsius) so that safety of the semiconductor integratedcircuit device 1 can be enhanced.

As described above, in the overcurrent protection circuit 71 of thesecond embodiment, the duty control unit 220 is disabled so that theovercurrent protection operation of the current limit method iscontinued until the output voltage Vo is sufficiently raised after theNMOSFET 10 is turned on, and the duty control unit 220 is enabled afterthe output voltage Vo is sufficiently raised.

According to this overcurrent protection operation, compatibilitybetween stable startup and functional safety of the semiconductorintegrated circuit device 1 can be achieved, and hence variousspecifications of the load 3 can be flexibly supported, while functionalsafety required to the semiconductor integrated circuit device 1 can becleared at high level.

In the above description, the output voltage monitor signal S230 is usedas a the control signal for switching the duty control unit 220 betweenenabled and disabled in the overcurrent protection circuit 71. However,if there is any other abnormality protecting portion than the dutycontrol unit 220 that can inhibit the output voltage Vo from rising, itis possible to use the output voltage monitor signal S230 as a controlsignal for switching the abnormality protecting portion between enabledand disabled. An application to the temperature protection circuit 73 isexemplified and described briefly below.

<Application to Temperature Protection Circuit>

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a structural example of thetemperature protection circuit 73. The temperature protection circuit 73of this structural example includes a first temperature detectionportion 73A, a second temperature detection portion 73B, and a logicalOR operator 73C.

The first temperature detection portion 73A (corresponding to theoverheat protection portion) detects junction temperature Tj1 of theNMOSFET 10 using a temperature detection element D1 disposed inside orin a vicinity of the NMOSFET 10, and compares the detected value with apredetermined abnormality detection value (e.g. 175 degrees Celsius) aswell as an abnormality cancellation value (e.g. 150 degrees Celsius), soas to generate a first temperature protection signal S73A. The firsttemperature protection signal S73A becomes high level (i.e. a logiclevel when an abnormality is detected) when the junction temperature Tj1becomes higher than the abnormality detection value, and becomes lowlevel (i.e. a logic level when no abnormality is detected) when thejunction temperature Tj1 becomes lower than the abnormality cancellationvalue.

The second temperature detection portion 73B (corresponding to thetemperature difference protection portion) detects junction temperatureTj2 of an integrated circuit 200 (such as the control logic portion 40)except the NMOSFET 10 using a temperature detection element D2 disposedinside or in a vicinity of the integrated circuit 200. The secondtemperature detection portion 73B compares a temperature difference ΔTj(=Tj1−Tj2) between the junction temperature Tj1 and the junctiontemperature Tj2 with a predetermined abnormality detection value (e.g.60 degrees Celsius) as well as an abnormality cancellation value (e.g.45 degrees Celsius), so as to generate a second temperature protectionsignal S73B. The second temperature protection signal S73B becomes highlevel (i.e. a logic level when an abnormality is detected) when thetemperature difference ΔTj becomes more than the abnormality detectionvalue and becomes low level (i.e. a logic level when no abnormality isdetected) when the temperature difference ΔTj becomes less than theabnormality cancellation value.

The logical OR operator 73C performs a logical OR operation between thefirst temperature protection signal S73A and the second temperatureprotection signal S73B so as to generate a third temperature protectionsignal S73C. The third temperature protection signal S73C becomes lowlevel when the first temperature protection signal S73A and the secondtemperature protection signal S73B are both at low level, and becomeshigh level when at least one of the first temperature protection signalS73A and the second temperature protection signal S73B is at high level.The third temperature protection signal S73C is output to the controllogic portion 40 (or the gate control unit 30) instead of thetemperature protection signal S73 (see FIG. 1 ) described above.

The temperature protection circuit 73 having the structure describedabove performs self-reset type temperature protection operation, inwhich the NMOSFET 10 is forcibly turned off when the junctiontemperature Tj1 or the temperature difference ΔTj becomes higher thanthe corresponding abnormality detection value, and the forced turn-offof the NMOSFET 10 is cancelled when the junction temperature Tj1 or thetemperature difference ΔTj becomes lower than the correspondingabnormality cancellation value.

Similarly to the duty control unit 220 described above, the secondtemperature detection portion 73B corresponds to the intermittentcontrol unit that intermittently drives the NMOSFET 10 when anabnormality is detected, and it is switched between enabled and disabledaccording to the output voltage monitor signal S230. More specifically,the second temperature detection portion 73B is disabled when S230 is atlow level (i.e. when Vo<Vtarget (approximately VBB) holds), and isenabled when S230 is at high level (i.e. when Vo=Vtarget (approximatelyVBB) holds).

Therefore, after the NMOSFET 10 is turned on, even if the temperaturedifference ΔTj becomes more than the abnormality detection value whenthe output voltage Vo has not reached the target value Vtarget(approximately VBB), the second temperature protection signal S73B isnot raised to high level, and the NMOSFET 10 is not forcibly turned off.Therefore, the output voltage Vo can be raised without delay, andtherefore the startup time of the output voltage Vo can be reduced.

As described above, the output voltage monitor signal S230 can be usedalso as the control signal for enabling or disabling the secondtemperature detection portion 73B of the temperature protection circuit73.

In contrast, the first temperature detection portion 73A is the same asthe second temperature detection portion 73B in that it intermittentlydrives the NMOSFET 10 when an abnormality is detected. However, thefirst temperature detection portion 73A does not receive an input of theoutput voltage monitor signal S230, and the operation thereof is alwaysenabled.

Therefore, when the junction temperature Tj1 of the NMOSFET 10 becomeshigher than the abnormality detection value, even if the output voltageVo has not reached its target value Vtarget (approximately VBB), theNMOSFET 10 is forcibly turned off. This temperature protection operationcan protect the NMOSFET 10 from thermal breakdown, and hence safety ofthe semiconductor integrated circuit device 1 can be enhanced.

<Application to Vehicle>

FIG. 20 is an external view illustrating a structural example of avehicle. A vehicle X of this structural example is equipped with abattery (not shown in this view), and various electronic apparatuses X11to X18 that operate with power supply from the battery. Positions of theelectronic apparatus X11 to X18 in this view may be different fromactual positions for convenience sake of illustration.

The electronic apparatus X11 is an engine control unit that performscontrol of an engine (such as injection control, electronic throttlecontrol, idling control, oxygen sensor heater control, and automaticcruise control).

The electronic apparatus X12 is a lamp control unit that performs on/offcontrol of a high intensity discharged lamp (HID), a daytime runninglamp (DRL), and the like.

The electronic apparatus X13 is a transmission control unit thatperforms control of a transmission.

The electronic apparatus X14 is a body control unit that performscontrol of movement of the vehicle X (such as anti-lock brake system(ABS) control, electric power steering (EPS) control, and electronicsuspension control).

The electronic apparatus X15 is a security control unit that performsdrive control of door lock, anti-theft alarm, and the like.

The electronic apparatus X16 is an electronic apparatus such as a wiper,electric door mirrors, a power window, a damper (shock absorber), anelectric sunroof, or an electric sheet, which is mounted in the vehicleX as standard equipment or a manufacturer option when shipped from afactory.

The electronic apparatus X17 is an electronic apparatus such asin-vehicle audio/visual (A/V) equipment, a navigation system, or anelectronic toll collection system (ETC), which is mounted in the vehicleX as a user option.

The electronic apparatus X18 is an electronic apparatus such as anin-vehicle blower, an oil pump, a water pump, or a battery cooling fan,which includes a high withstand voltage motor.

The semiconductor integrated circuit device 1, the ECU 2, and the load 3described above can be incorporated in any of the electronic apparatusesX11 to X18.

<Other Variations>

In addition, in the embodiments described above, an in-vehicle high sideswitch IC connected between the power supply terminal and the load isexemplified and described, but the application target of the inventiondisclosed in this specification is not limited to this. For instance,the invention can be widely applied to semiconductor integrated circuitdevices other than the in-vehicle use, in addition to other in-vehicleIPD (an in-vehicle low side switch IC connected between the load and theground terminal, or an in-vehicle power supply IC).

In addition, various technical features disclosed in this specificationcan be variously modified within the spirit of the technical creation,other than the embodiments described above. In other words, theembodiments described above are merely examples in every aspect andshould not be interpreted as limitations. The technical scope of thepresent invention is defined not by the above description of theembodiments but by the claims, and should be understood to include allmodifications within the meanings and scope equivalent to the claims.

<Summary>

Various embodiments disclosed in this specification are summarizedbelow.

The switch device disclosed in this specification has a structureincluding a switching element arranged to connect/disconnect a currentpath from a power supply terminal to a ground terminal via a load, andan overcurrent protection circuit arranged to limit output currentflowing in the switching element to be an overcurrent limit value orless, in which when an output short circuit of the load is detected, theovercurrent protection circuit decreases the overcurrent limit value tobe smaller as a power supply voltage is higher (first structure).

Further, the switch device according to the first structure preferablyhas a structure in which the overcurrent protection circuit decreasesthe overcurrent limit value only when the power supply voltage is higherthan a predetermined threshold value voltage (second structure).

In addition, the switch device according to the first or secondstructure preferably has a structure in which the overcurrent protectioncircuit includes a reference current generation portion arranged togenerate a reference current, and a comparison portion arranged tocompare a threshold value voltage corresponding to the reference currentwith a sense voltage corresponding to the output current so as togenerate an overcurrent protection signal, and when an output shortcircuit of the load is detected, the reference current generationportion decreases the reference current to be smaller as the powersupply voltage is higher (third structure).

In addition, the switch device according to the third structurepreferably has a structure in which the reference current generationportion includes a differential amplifier portion arranged to amplify adifference value between the power supply voltage or its divided voltageand a predetermined reference voltage so as to generate a differentialamplified voltage, an upper side current generation portion arranged togenerate a predetermined upper side current, a lower side currentgeneration portion arranged to generate a lower side currentcorresponding to the differential amplified voltage, and a differencecurrent generation portion arranged to output a difference currentobtained by subtracting the lower side current from the upper sidecurrent, as the reference current (fourth structure).

In addition, the switch device according to the fourth structurepreferably has a structure in which the reference current generationportion further includes a lower side current control unit arranged tostop output of the lower side current when at least one of an outputshort circuit of the load and an overcurrent abnormality of the outputcurrent is not detected (fifth structure).

In addition, the switch device according to the fifth structurepreferably has a structure in which the lower side current control unitstops output of the lower side current also when an overvoltageabnormality of the power supply voltage is not detected (sixthstructure).

In addition, an electronic apparatus disclosed in this specification hasa structure including the switch device according to one of the first tosixth structures, and a load connected to the switch device (seventhstructure).

The electronic apparatus according to the seventh structure preferablyhas a structure in which the switch device is a high side switchconnected between the power supply terminal and the load, or a low sideswitch connected between the load and the ground terminal (eighthstructure).

In addition, the electronic apparatus according to the seventh or eighthstructure preferably has a structure in which the load is one of a bulblamp, a relay coil, a solenoid, a light emitting diode, and a motor(ninth structure).

In addition, a vehicle disclosed in this specification has a structureincluding the electronic apparatus according to one of the seventh toninth structures (tenth structure).

In addition, a switch device disclosed in this specification has astructure including a switching element arranged to connect/disconnect acurrent path from a power supply terminal to a ground terminal via aload, an intermittent control unit arranged to intermittently drive theswitching element when an abnormality is detected, and an output voltagemonitoring portion arranged to disable the intermittent control unituntil an output voltage applied to the load reaches its target value(eleventh structure).

Further, the switch device according to the eleventh structurepreferably has a structure further including a current control unitarranged to limit output current flowing in the switching element to bea predetermined upper limit value or less (twelfth structure).

In addition, the switch device according to the twelfth structurepreferably has a structure in which the intermittent control unitincludes a duty control unit arranged to turn off the switching elementfor a predetermined off period when the current limiting operation bythe current control unit continues for a predetermined on period(thirteenth structure).

In addition, the switch device according to the thirteenth structurepreferably has a structure in which the current control unit compares asense voltage corresponding to the output current with a threshold valuevoltage corresponding to the upper limit value, so as to generate afirst overcurrent protection signal for controlling a conduction degreeof the switching element and a status notification signal for notifyingthe duty control unit that the current control unit currently limits theoutput current (fourteenth structure).

In addition, the switch device according to one of the eleventh tofourteenth structures preferably has a structure in which theintermittent control unit includes a temperature difference protectionportion arranged to turn off the switching element when a temperaturedifference between the switching element and other integrated circuitsis abnormal (fifteenth structure).

In addition, the switch device according to one of the eleventh tofifteenth structures preferably has a structure further including anoverheat protection portion arranged to turn off the switching elementwhen a temperature of the switching element is abnormal even if theoutput voltage has not reached its target value (sixteenth structure).

In addition, an electronic apparatus disclosed in this specification hasa structure including the switch device according to one of the eleventhto sixteenth structures, and a load connected to the switch device(seventeenth structure).

Further, the electronic apparatus according to the seventeenth structurepreferably has a structure in which the switch device is a high sideswitch connected between the power supply terminal and the load, or alow side switch connected between the load and the ground terminal(eighteenth structure).

In addition, the electronic apparatus according to the seventeenth oreighteenth structure preferably has a structure in which the load is oneof a bulb lamp, a relay coil, a solenoid, a light emitting diode, and amotor (nineteenth structure).

In addition, a vehicle disclosed in this specification has a structureincluding the electronic apparatus according to one of the seventeenthto nineteenth structures (twentieth structure).

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The invention disclosed in this specification can be used for anin-vehicle IPD (such as an in-vehicle switch having high versatility),for example.

What is claimed is:
 1. A switch device comprising: a switching elementarranged to connect/disconnect a current path from a power supplyterminal to a ground terminal via a load, the switching element being ahigh side switch connected between the power supply terminal and theload; an intermittent control unit arranged to intermittently drive theswitching element when an abnormality is detected; an output voltagemonitoring portion arranged to monitor an output voltage applied to theload and to disable the intermittent control unit until the outputvoltage increases to a power supply voltage applied to the power supplyterminal, and a signal path for transmitting a signal from the outputvoltage monitoring portion to the intermittent control unit.
 2. Theswitch device according to claim 1, further comprising a current controlunit arranged to limit output current flowing in the switching elementto be a predetermined upper limit value or less.
 3. The switch deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the intermittent control unit includes aduty control unit arranged to turn off the switching element for apredetermined off period when the current limiting operation by thecurrent control unit continues for a predetermined on period.
 4. Theswitch device according to claim 3, wherein the current control unitcompares a sense voltage corresponding to the output current with athreshold value voltage corresponding to the upper limit value, so as togenerate a first overcurrent protection signal for controlling aconduction degree of the switching element and a status notificationsignal for notifying the duty control unit that the current control unitcurrently limits the output current.
 5. The switch device according toclaim 1, wherein the intermittent control unit includes a temperaturedifference protection portion arranged to turn off the switching elementwhen a temperature difference between the switching element and otherintegrated circuits is abnormal.
 6. The switch device according to claim1, further comprising an overheat protection portion arranged to turnoff the switching element when a temperature of the switching element isabnormal even if the output voltage has not reached its target value. 7.An electronic apparatus comprising: the switch device according to claim1; and the load connected to the switch device.
 8. The electronicapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the load is one of a bulb lamp,a relay coil, a solenoid, a light emitting diode, or a motor.
 9. Avehicle comprising the electronic apparatus according to claim 7.